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Convicted of sexually abusing his three children in a 1994 trial charged with allegations of Satanism, Parker was freed after Superior Court Judge Marvin Pope ruled Monday that the medical evidence would no longer be interpreted as proof of sexual abuse. Pope vacated Parker's sentence and dismissed the charges against him.

“It's tragic the way the system works, but you know the thing about it is ... I feel that if you trust in God, keep the faith, stay the course, you're going to prevail the way I did today,” Parker said after leaving prison Tuesday. “I have learned the hard way, you've got to appreciate everything. You can't take anything for granted, no matter how small. The small things is what means the most.”

Parker was first jailed in February 1993, when he and several co-defendants were accused of abusing Parker's three children in and near their home in Saluda.

At trial in 1994, Parker's children testified in graphic detail about abuse that prosecutors labeled ritualistic. The 9-year-old girl testified that she had been sexually abused in a garage behind their home. She said a fire was burning inside a circle made of rocks, and she heard people chanting in soft voices.

In an emotion-charged atmosphere, then-Assistant District Attorney Mike Edwards called the trailer park where the family lived “Sodom and Saluda” and quoted the Bible in his statements to the jury.

Parker's brother even said he doubted Parker's innocence during the trial.

“If you listen to all of the hype that surround his trial and all,” Larry Parker Sr. said Tuesday, “it'll make you start believing, even though you know they can't do this. You start believing what you hear. If you hear it long enough, you'll believe it. And that's why we're here today. It's time to stop.”

For 10 years, Larry Parker Sr. threw his brother's letters from prison into the trash unread. After Larry Parker's son Wayne urged his father to reach out to the imprisoned relative, Larry Parker began to visit. Now he is his brother's advocate.

After Michael Parker was released from prison, Larry Parker ushered his brother into his minivan and drove him to his home in Cowpens, S.C. Michael Parker says he has no plans to return to Henderson County.

Parker's release marked the end of a 15-year legal odyssey for defense lawyer Sean Devereux, who took up Parker's cause in 1999.

“I am unequivocal in telling you that my belief is that Michael Parker is innocent of everything he was accused of,” Devereux said Tuesday. “I have probably got close to 600 hours in this case — probably 400 of them I was not compensated for and probably never will be — and I would not have done that if I had any doubt in my mind about his innocence, so I think that the North Carolina criminal justice system failed him in 1994.”

Michael Parker said he and his wife had a troubled marriage, and he thinks his wife coached the children's testimony against him.

“I should have walked off and left, but I didn't,” Michael Parker said, adding that he wanted to be there for his children and work things out. “I was punished by lies and allegations that weren't true.”

In a 2010 affidavit recanting all allegations against her father, Misty Parker stated that she lied to get her father out of their home.

“I remember my father being physically abusive of my mother,” Misty Parker said in the affidavit. “I lied about my father sexually abusing me because I wanted to protect my mother. My sister, brother and I wanted to be sure that our father stayed in jail.”

Current Henderson County District Attorney Greg Newman opposed Parker's release, saying it is impossible to know how much the medical evidence influenced the jury's decision, and the conviction was upheld on appeal.

Newman said he respects Pope's opinion on the case.

After reviewing the transcripts from the trial, Newman said, “I think the man (Parker) did something to the kids. I don't think that we'll ever know exactly what, so I don't want people to think or have the impression that this is a case of an innocent man wrongly convicted. I don't think that is what we have. I think that something went on between him and these kids, and the question is going to be exactly what took place, and we may never know exactly what took place now.”

Too much time has passed to retry the case against Parker, Newman added.

Parker's children could not be reached by the Times-News for comment.

Of those who testified against him, Parker said, “I am disappointed, but I am going to say that I have a forgiving heart. I understand their motives, but I am just thankful to God that I was strong enough to outlive their motives to put me here.”

Devereux said Parker reached out to his children via letters a number of years ago and is open to any relationship they wish to have with him, but he is not going to impose upon them.

The lawyer who represented Parker in 1994, current county Commissioner Mike Edney, said he has always believed that Parker was wrongly convicted.

“The emotions got in the way of facts and reality," Edney said, "and he was a victim of basically a train wreck, so I am extremely pleased to see that justice has prevailed, even though it took so many years to do so.”

The entire justice system has evolved and improved over the past 20 years, Edney said, and had the allegations been made today, there would likely have been a much different outcome.

Parker, who learned a trade in prison and worked for 17 years as a barber for the Department of Corrections, said Tuesday that he's looking forward to taking a walk in the woods and listening to the sounds of nature.

“I am just going to be me. I am not going to live extravagant,” Parker said. “I just want to be me now. I have a good head on my shoulders now, and I am a little bit more educated on the good things in life.”

<p>ASHEVILLE — After more than 20 years behind bars, Michael Alan Parker, 57, walked past the barbed wire gates of Craggy Correctional Center and looked out at the mountain skyline on Tuesday morning.</p><p>Convicted of sexually abusing his three children in a 1994 trial charged with allegations of Satanism, Parker was freed after Superior Court Judge Marvin Pope ruled Monday that the medical evidence would no longer be interpreted as proof of sexual abuse. Pope vacated Parker's sentence and dismissed the charges against him.</p><p>“It's tragic the way the system works, but you know the thing about it is ... I feel that if you trust in God, keep the faith, stay the course, you're going to prevail the way I did today,” Parker said after leaving prison Tuesday. “I have learned the hard way, you've got to appreciate everything. You can't take anything for granted, no matter how small. The small things is what means the most.”</p><p>Parker was first jailed in February 1993, when he and several co-defendants were accused of abusing Parker's three children in and near their home in Saluda.</p><p>At trial in 1994, Parker's children testified in graphic detail about abuse that prosecutors labeled ritualistic. The 9-year-old girl testified that she had been sexually abused in a garage behind their home. She said a fire was burning inside a circle made of rocks, and she heard people chanting in soft voices.</p><p>In an emotion-charged atmosphere, then-Assistant District Attorney Mike Edwards called the trailer park where the family lived “Sodom and Saluda” and quoted the Bible in his statements to the jury.</p><p>Parker's brother even said he doubted Parker's innocence during the trial.</p><p>“If you listen to all of the hype that surround his trial and all,” Larry Parker Sr. said Tuesday, “it'll make you start believing, even though you know they can't do this. You start believing what you hear. If you hear it long enough, you'll believe it. And that's why we're here today. It's time to stop.”</p><p>For 10 years, Larry Parker Sr. threw his brother's letters from prison into the trash unread. After Larry Parker's son Wayne urged his father to reach out to the imprisoned relative, Larry Parker began to visit. Now he is his brother's advocate.</p><p>After Michael Parker was released from prison, Larry Parker ushered his brother into his minivan and drove him to his home in Cowpens, S.C. Michael Parker says he has no plans to return to Henderson County.</p><p>Parker's release marked the end of a 15-year legal odyssey for defense lawyer Sean Devereux, who took up Parker's cause in 1999.</p><p>“I am unequivocal in telling you that my belief is that Michael Parker is innocent of everything he was accused of,” Devereux said Tuesday. “I have probably got close to 600 hours in this case — probably 400 of them I was not compensated for and probably never will be — and I would not have done that if I had any doubt in my mind about his innocence, so I think that the North Carolina criminal justice system failed him in 1994.”</p><p>Michael Parker said he and his wife had a troubled marriage, and he thinks his wife coached the children's testimony against him.</p><p>“I should have walked off and left, but I didn't,” Michael Parker said, adding that he wanted to be there for his children and work things out. “I was punished by lies and allegations that weren't true.”</p><p>In a 2010 affidavit recanting all allegations against her father, Misty Parker stated that she lied to get her father out of their home.</p><p>“I remember my father being physically abusive of my mother,” Misty Parker said in the affidavit. “I lied about my father sexually abusing me because I wanted to protect my mother. My sister, brother and I wanted to be sure that our father stayed in jail.”</p><p>Current Henderson County District Attorney Greg Newman opposed Parker's release, saying it is impossible to know how much the medical evidence influenced the jury's decision, and the conviction was upheld on appeal.</p><p>Newman said he respects Pope's opinion on the case.</p><p>After reviewing the transcripts from the trial, Newman said, “I think the man (Parker) did something to the kids. I don't think that we'll ever know exactly what, so I don't want people to think or have the impression that this is a case of an innocent man wrongly convicted. I don't think that is what we have. I think that something went on between him and these kids, and the question is going to be exactly what took place, and we may never know exactly what took place now.”</p><p>Too much time has passed to retry the case against Parker, Newman added.</p><p>Parker's children could not be reached by the Times-News for comment.</p><p>Of those who testified against him, Parker said, “I am disappointed, but I am going to say that I have a forgiving heart. I understand their motives, but I am just thankful to God that I was strong enough to outlive their motives to put me here.”</p><p>Devereux said Parker reached out to his children via letters a number of years ago and is open to any relationship they wish to have with him, but he is not going to impose upon them.</p><p>The lawyer who represented Parker in 1994, current county Commissioner Mike Edney, said he has always believed that Parker was wrongly convicted.</p><p> “The emotions got in the way of facts and reality," Edney said, "and he was a victim of basically a train wreck, so I am extremely pleased to see that justice has prevailed, even though it took so many years to do so.”</p><p>The entire justice system has evolved and improved over the past 20 years, Edney said, and had the allegations been made today, there would likely have been a much different outcome.</p><p>Parker, who learned a trade in prison and worked for 17 years as a barber for the Department of Corrections, said Tuesday that he's looking forward to taking a walk in the woods and listening to the sounds of nature.</p><p>“I am just going to be me. I am not going to live extravagant,” Parker said. “I just want to be me now. I have a good head on my shoulders now, and I am a little bit more educated on the good things in life.”</p><p>Reach Bindewald at 828-694-7890 or Renee.bindewald@blueridgenow.com.</p>